Wrinkles in Our Sails: BVI Trip - Days 5

Leaving Trellis Bay In our wake we motored east dead into the wind heading for The Baths at Virgin Gorda. Brenda motored us up to a mooring ball which Karen and Peter snatched up and secured us to. We are getting much better at this mooring ball routine. A quick dinghy ride over to the dinghy mooring area just outside The Baths and we were ready to explore this treasure. This was the first time we had to leave the dinghy in deeper water which meant everyone was going to have to climb back in to the dinghy directly from the water. Should be easy right? We'll see......

The Baths

We wandered our way through the amazing rock formations and small pools of water until we reached a beautiful sandy beach with the clearest water we have ever seen. We swam and floated for a while thoroughly enjoying the beauty of this place. A couple of women came by us in the water and asked us if we knew what time it was. Karen said, "Thursday?" We giggled. How are we supposed to know what time it is when we can't even remember what day it is! I guess we really have adapted to island time.

A rare sighting if the big blue snorkeler

We had our picnic lunch in our backpack, so we found a somewhat shady spot near the brush on the beach to eat. As we were unpacking the sandwiches, cheese, crackers and grapes three wild chickens and one salamander (?) appeared to see if they could share our lunch. There is just something wrong with seeing a rooster walking across a beach. Brenda was kept busy waving the little salamander away as he tried just about every route to the food he could find. The chickens stayed in the brush politely waiting for us to leave so they could look for any scraps. Or so we thought. The big rooster came strutting around the front side of our group, loudly crowing to get our attention. We watched his display for a moment and then realized he was the decoy as the hens were slipping down from the brush behind us to grab some treats. Sneaky little band of thieves! Fortunately we can say we weren't outsmarted by some chickens.

Head Chicken Thief

We eventually made our way back out to our dinghy and the "How To Enter A Dinghy From The Water" class began. Let's just say it wasn't pretty, but we all ended up inside somehow.

We set the sails and headed along the coast of Virgin Gorda enjoying the ride. We rounded Mosquito Rock and cleared the Colquhoun Reef to enter Gorda Sound. About this time Peter was starting to bounce around like a kid waiting to open his presents on Christmas morning. Karen and Peter vacationed at the Bitter End Yacht Club a couple of years ago and took their first sailing lessons there. Peter has very fond memories of his time there and was visibly excited to be entering the bay in a sailboat.

Peter recently celebrated a birthday and his wish was to have a fine dinner at the BEYC restaurant. We put on our finest outfits and the ladies looked lovely. The waterfront table was a perfect setting for a meal we will remember for years to come. Thank you Karen and Peter for letting us share in this moment.

We enjoyed our evening and introduction to the BEYC so much that we all agreed to spend the entire next day there instead of moving on. Having 20 days on a charter is such a blessing. We never felt like we needed to rush along to see everything and were able to simply do as we pleased at our own pace. We read books on the beach, enjoyed lunch, shopped a little and had cool drinks as we melted into the wonderful feel of this bay. That afternoon we took the dinghy outside the bay to find a recommended snorkeling reef. The waves were getting kicked up enough that we were taking on a bit more water than anyone was comfortable with, so we settled for a quick and uneventful snorkel near the entrance to the bay. That evening we also took the dinghy to Saba Rock for drinks. They have large underwater lights which become a feeding ground for the tarpon. It makes for an interesting spot to sit outside with a cool drink.